


From Despair to Hope

by OxyMitch



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), New Warriors
Genre: Captivity, Declarations Of Love, Dystopia, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Hope vs. Despair, Hurt/Comfort, Hydra (Marvel), Hydra Steve Rogers, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Near Death, Prison, Recovery, Rescue, Secret Empire, Secret Empire (2017), Secret Empire (Marvel), Secret Empire (comics)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-28 19:05:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11424216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OxyMitch/pseuds/OxyMitch
Summary: America has fallen to Hydra. The betrayal by their former idol has left Superhero Community in shock.  How would Vance and friends cope with the Hydra Takeover?(Former Title is New Warriors: Secret Empire)





	From Despair to Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Note: As I have read a few Secret Empire issues and the tie-ins, I decided to write those unsung heroes, the New Warriors. Any superhero doesn’t have have to be just the Avengers; whether they are B-List or D-List, they need to step up and fight Hydra. Also take note that Vance Astrovik is in his early 20s while Robbie Baldwin is likely to be at least 19-20 years old.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anyone of Marvel.
> 
> Update: I have decided to update this fic as a one-shot instead of a two-chapter fic.

_It happened just like that…._

The dark-haired man sighed as he stood by the window and looked as his cellmate who seemed younger than him. His cellmate was a blond young man who had been sleeping uncomfortably on the lower part of the bunk bed. The two young men in their 20s were cooped up in the cramped cell. Perhaps most noticeably, apart from the orange prison uniforms, the two young men were wearing collars on their necks which makes them different from human prisoners. They were no longer Justice and Speedball, the New Warriors, they are Vance Astrovik and Robbie Baldwin, far more reluctant prisoners. 

It all started when United States had been taken over by Hydra. What made it worse was that Steve Rogers the greatest Avenger and friend had been revealed as a Sleeper Hydra Agent via memory alteration by the reality warper and is now a leader of the terrorist organization. 

Vance could feel that his whole world had shattered. From an Inheritor attack which left him and his teammates injured to Kaine’s disappearance. Followed by hearing the news of Rage’s arrest and eventually, he was put into a coma after he took the beatings in prison.[1] And now, Steve Rogers, his idol and father figure had turned into a fascist dictator. However, with Robbie’s encouragement, Vance did not give into despair as he carried on with his heroics by changing from the super-heroic New Warriors into a group of Resistance Team made up of the New Warrior teammates (both veterans and recent alike)[2] and the previously inactive teenage superheroes[3] who joined into their cause as they refused to bow down to Hydra. The Resistance had been located at the undisclosed network of bunkers in the mountains of Colorado. Their Resistance group had dubbed themselves as Warriors Resistance . Vance and the Warriors Resistance had been helping the Inhumans and Mutants to escape from Hydra’s clutches. His team had also been saving the lives of the innocents, relaying messages and giving supplies to anti-Hydra Avengers Resistance and assisting the oppressed minorities who have been bullied by Pro-Hydra militia. Even though they could not help the unfortunate superheroes and innocents of Manhattan who are trapped under the darkforce dome, Vance knew that there are more lives to save outside of New York and perhaps he could hope for the trapped heroes to undo the dome. 

Vance Astrovik had spent his days doing the work with the Warriors Resistance. However, one fateful day, Vance was caught by Hydra for helping Mark Sim and Selah Burke escape with the Inhuman escapees of the Internment Camp at Dallas. During the raid, Vance held the soldiers off with the telekinetic shields and blasts while telling Haechi to run so that he could buy their time to escape. Unfortunately, it ended up as failure when the Hydra soldiers used the supersonic cannon to fire on him which caused his telekinetic fields to shatter and his consciousness blacked out. All he could hope was for Mark and Selah to be safe. 

Vance refused to think that he had been betrayed and captured, taken by surprise when he was supposed to be a professional especially for a leader of the New Warriors. Sure, Vance had been to prison before but that was different, it happened only long time ago when he was arrested and convicted for manslaughter as he accidentally killed his abusive father. Robbie had been in prison too but unlike Vance, he was detained without a trial and was branded as the most hated man of America for inadvertently causing Stamford Explosion which killed 600 civilians at the elementary school. 

At that moment, Vance snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the distant sounds of footsteps moving about the corridor, he laid his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Robbie? Robbie, wake up.”

Robbie turned his head, his eye squinting half-open. “Mmmm...what’s going on, Vance?” 

“The guards are coming, Robbie. It’s best we be on our guard.”

“Yeah...I know that but what can we do?”

Vance sighed again and moved backwards to the wall. He figured out that Robbie’s apathetic mumbling might be one of his mood swings but then again, getting trapped in prison again might contribute to his negativity partially due to his trauma from his previous incarceration. Vance Astrovik had been imprisoned in this cell for less than two weeks while Robbie Baldwin came later to the same cell five days ago. In a seemingly bittersweet reunion, the imprisoned duo chatted with each other in whispers so that they would not alert any passing guard. Much to Vance’s partial relief, Robbie told him that his teammates Mark and Selah as well as the Inhuman escapees were safe but they were slightly shaken after his capture. Robbie also mentioned that besides Vance, the only few members of Warriors Resistance who went missing in his absence are Ultragirl, Debrii and Gravity. Besides chattering in whispers, the duo make up their time in prison by taking their turns on keeping watch when one has to sleep. And whenever, the guard comes to the cell, Vance and Robbie have to be awake and on alert. 

As for Robbie Baldwin, how he was captured was a different story. The following days after Vance’s capture, Robbie was arrested by Deadpool of all people when he was on the way to the rendezvous point by riding on his motorbike at the highway. Robbie managed to put up a fight against Deadpool by being resistant to bullets and kicks until the mercenary used the knockout gas which eventually led to his arrest. [4] Robbie also could not believe that someone like Deadpool could become a jackboot stooge working for Hydra. Whatever that is, Deadpool may be an unpredictable mercenary even though he was working in Avengers. But that’s not important, what matters now is whether their resistance group could function without an experienced leader like Vance. Maybe they could count on a veteran New Warrior like Silhouette, Turbo or a smart perky girl like Selah Burke (a.k.a Sun Girl) to back them up. Or perhaps even the formerly-dead friends - Richard Rider or Dwayne Taylor could help as they have heard from rumours that they came back from the dead. 

The former New Warriors were interrupted by the baton clanging on the grilled bars of the tiny window from the cell door. Vance and Robbie got up quickly and kept their heads down but they did not show signs of fear on their faces. 

“Get up, you little shits!” the guard called out in a gruff voice, “the Supreme Hydra wishes to speak to you.”

In a few moments, two or three masked guards dressed in dark uniforms (starkly contrasted from the usual green-and-yellow Hydra uniforms) stepped into the cell and blocked the open door. With the sight of intimidating electroshock batons in their hands and the blocked cell door, the chances of fighting them without their powers are slim. After the guards came a figure dressed in a posh, medal-decorated Hydra uniform of a higher rank giving it a commanding presence in the room but the face looked sort of familiar. 

“Cap...” Vance growled at the sight of his former idol. 

“Or should it be...Captain Hydra?” Robbie made a half-joking sneer. 

“Watch your mouth, brat!” the guard threatened him with a remote control. 

Vance cringed at the sight of the remote control, he knew that this device is a torture tool. He had witnessed before that once the button is pressed, it would send electric shocks to the unfortunate prisoner who wears the collar. Not only that the collar is a shock collar, it is also meant to block the powers of superpowered individuals who are Mutants and Superhumans. At times, the guards and the sadistic warden would torture the duo by zapping either Robbie or Vance whenever they try to challenge them. As a result, Vance had to keep Robbie from provoking the guard further as he did not want to see his friend get hurt from more torture. Vance had endured not only electric shocks from the collar, he also endured sleep deprivation torture from the captors who kept harassing him with loud noise (from shouts and baton clanging on the door) and random visits to their cell. Normally, the sleep deprivation can affect anyone but for a psychic, it is much worse. With sleep deprivation, the psychics get weaker as it puts more strain on their head resulting in painful headaches. The less sleep they have, the weaker the psychic gets whenever he uses his superpowers.

“Robbie, don’t…” 

“That is enough! You may leave now!” the Supreme Hydra barked at the guard with the remote control. Then, the leader turned to the other guards, “the rest of you, go and wait outside, I need a moment.”

The guards obeyed him and left, leaving only Vance, Robbie and the Supreme Hydra in the cell. 

“Please forgive my men for their harsh behavior.” the Supreme Hydra spoke in a more approachable tone to the prisoners, “Hello Vance. Hello, Robert. You might know me as Steve Rogers…”

“Save it, **‘Captain’**!” Vance hissed in a bitter tone, “don’t talk to me like you’re my friend” 

“Vance Astrovik, you have done an impressive job in leading the New Warriors even though you recently went through a lot of setbacks. As for you, Robert Baldwin, I’m starting to feel that you are going back to your old self. I’m even surprised that you managed to put up a fight against Deadpool a few days back. It was worth an effort…”

“Yeah, until he cheated by gassing me” Robbie snorted with disgust. 

Steve ignored Robbie and turned to the other New Warrior, “Vance, I have a proposal for you. I have realized that you are a mutant and mutantkind is endangered. I can offer you a privilege by sending you to New Tian, a sovereign nation where Mutants can thrive without any fear of getting attacked by outsiders. They are under protection and they can be supplied with food, water or medical supplies when necessary. You can have this proposal but on few conditions - One, you must stay in the land at all times. Two, you cannot bring anyone who are not mutants into the land without the Sovereign’s permission. Three, you must not oppose Hydra. The choice is yours.”

Vance could not believe what he had been hearing. The idea of getting “protected” in an isolated reservation land with more restrictions and no free will was appalling. The last time Vance had remembered was that several years ago, he had been invited to stay in a place called Utopia which was a rocky island off San Francisco. As a response, Vance politely turned down Cyclops’ offer by telling him that he was more comfortable integrating with the outside world than to stay in isolation. Also, at that time, Vance was busy rebelling against Norman Osborn and then, having a job at Avengers Academy as a teacher along with Robbie, Hank Pym, Pietro and Greer after Osborn’s downfall. However, the idea of staying in New Tian the restricted area combined with acknowledging Hydra disgusted him. How would he ever visit Robbie and friends if he is not allowed to leave the Mutants’ “Sanctuary”? At least Cyclops was more well-intentioned, not a jackboot tyrant.

There was a pause in the cell as Vance and Steve stared at each other with intense faces. Not even Robbie could make a comment. 

“No” Vance responded flatly with a defiant glare in his eyes. 

“Fine then, you made your choice.” Steve sighed and then, turned to Robbie, “I can set you free if you join Hydra….”

“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah….” Robbie said sarcastically while showing his dismissive hand as if he is pushing him away, “set me free so I could kiss Hydra’s ass. Dream on! Just because I am a handsome blond blue-eyed boy, that doesn’t mean I could be a jackbooted Nazi dog!”

Steve Rogers groaned in frustration and turned to leave with a warning, “it seems that you made your own choices. You will regret and suffer your consequences.” 

Vance and Robbie watched the Supreme Hydra Leader leave and shut the cell door with a slam. The cold, unfeeling words from their former hero were chilling but the two New Warriors remained defiant and unafraid. Vance and Robbie waited with apprehension as they listened to the footsteps of the guards moving and chatting with their leader at the corridor. It took a while for the sounds of footsteps to die down. 

There was a moment of silence in the cell until Robbie began to speak. 

“Vance…”

“Yes, Robbie?” Vance looked at him with concern. 

“Do you have a feeling that it’s going to be our last night on Earth?” Robbie asked him with a soft tone in his voice. 

“Oh Robbie...,” Vance tried to reassure him with uncertainty, “everything is fine. We did a brave thing by making our own choices so don’t worry too much.” 

_False hope..._ Vance Astrovik thought for a moment as he swallowed. He knew that if any prisoner refuse more than one attempts of offers by the Supreme Leader to join Hydra, he/she would be executed by next morning. Last week, Vance had witnessed Rick Jones’ execution as he watched from the grilled window of the cell. The last defiant Avengers’ slogan from the mouth of brave Rick Jones and the shots from the firing squad had haunted him. 

Vance’s thoughts were interrupted when Robbie moved close to him and kissed his cheek. Vance’s face blushed in beet-red colour when he gasped at his friend’s sudden movement and getting too uncomfortably less-platonic. 

“Huh? Robbie?”

“Vance, sorry for startling you but all I have to say is...I love you. I don’t want to be alone when you die first. Please forgive me…” Robbie tried not to cry as he confessed his feelings to his friend, “you are my best friend...and best boyfriend I have ever had! Even though I had my bad days and I tried to push you away, you never leave me…”

“Shhhh….It’s alright, Robbie” Vance shushed him as he returned with a comforting hug, “it’s okay to confess your feelings and I love you too. I didn’t expect you to kiss me but I understand that you’re scared. Nobody likes to be left alone when the loved one dies. No one’s going to die in vain.” 

“I know…” Robbie choked as he rubbed his eye, “do you mind if we sit closer?”

“Sure, no problem”

Instead of a bed, both of them sat down on the floor with their backs against the wall. Robbie shifted closer to Vance and leaned his head against the chest while Vance wrapped his arm around Robbie’s shoulder. They sat there and huddled for warmth, feeling more secure than before. Vance could tell that Robbie was calming down by the breathing and getting less choked-up. As time passed, Robbie fell asleep. Despite feeling sleepy, Vance forced himself to stay awake by keeping his eye on the door for any passing guard. Because no one told the prisoners about their time of the execution until their last moment, most of the prisoners live in fear and despair that some even become suicidal. Vance had even heard one prisoner who tried to commit suicide (or just hurt himself) by the faint bangings which meant that he had been banging his head against the wall. 

_Even if our time comes, our death shall not be in vain! Whether it’s me or Robbie, it won’t matter as long as we’re together. The New Warriors shall live on..._

Vance was beginning to fall asleep when he heard the sound of the cell door opening. 

“Wake up, you fags! Your time is up!” 

Vance Astrovik had woken up from the noise; from his protective instincts, a thought that crossed his mind was to protect Robbie from the guards. He was not sure whether the execution was either meant for Robbie or for himself. However, Vance was not the only person to be awake as he heard a groan from his friend who had woken up.

“You better get up or else….” the guard threatened. 

“Go ahead! Kill me first!” Robbie cried out to the guards. 

“No! Leave him alone!” Vance protested as he tried to shield Robbie, “I’m the one you want!”

“Shut up, both of you!” the warden growled, “we the Hydra, have decided that both of you will face execution at the same time. We will broadcast your deaths so every hero freaks will lose hope. And soon, the Hydra will wipe out everyone of the resistance!”

Hearing those words, Vance and Robbie fell silent and looked at each other with grim faces. What will the Warriors Resistance, their friends and other heroes think if they watch their own executions on broadcast? 

“That’s better...” the warden’s tone had changed into calm sadism, “now please, step out of the cell. Do not resist or we’ll hurt you till you can’t walk.” 

The two former New Warriors reluctantly obeyed, mostly because they did not want to see either one of them get beaten badly. The guards tied up their wrists and surrounded them as they were forcibly marched out from the prison corridor to the grounds. The faces of the two young men were solemn and expressionless. As they stepped out of the building, the morning sky was overcast with gloomy clouds gathering above. The prison grounds were mostly empty except for a pole and behind it, the wall was ridden with bullet holes. 

“You see that pole over there?” the warden grinned, “it’s meant for either one of you to be shot. However, since I heard the rumours that both of you are lovers, I decided to come up with a new way to add the fun in execution….” 

Vance’s face turned pale and became speechless, he felt sick that this new sort of “fun” could mean something worse. He began to worry about Robbie. 

“Now, tie this mutie to the pole while the kid has to watch.”

The guards obeyed and brought Vance over to the pole where they tied him there on the spot. Vance watched with a stoic face as the rifles were pointed at him. 

_This is it. Mom...Anyone of New Warriors...Selah, Mark, Aracely, Faira, Kaine, Sil, Sam, Elvin, Nita, Rich, Dwayne and Angel...I am sorry for letting you down. And most of all, Robbie, I am very sorry for failing to protect you._

“Robbie!” Vance shouted, “whatever you do, just close your eyes!”

Robbie Baldwin felt like crying as he was helpless and forced to watch his best friend getting ready to be shot right in front of him. Because he had been tied up and the soldiers restraining him by the shoulders, he could not move. 

“Don’t listen to him!” the sadistic warden sneered, “however, if you want them to spare your friend, you must say out those words ‘Hail Hydra’ and pledge your allegiance.” 

Robbie shuddered for a moment but he kept himself calm for a bit. He breathed in deeply and began to cry out. 

“Hail…..”

 _Robbie, no!_

Instead of the forced Hydra slogan, Robbie burst out laughing. This act caught the guards, the warden and Vance off-guard. 

“....New Warriors! HAIL NEW WARRIORS! Ha! Ha!” Robbie laughed out loudly with tears in his eyes. 

_Damn...Robbie’s cracked (a joke I hope), he better be alright. Whatever that is, he’s got him fooled! Robbie, I’m proud of you..._ Vance gave a small smile as he watched Robbie laugh at the guards and the warden. The latter was fuming with rage as he had been humiliated by the infamous Speedball who have outwitted him. 

“Hah! Hail, New Warriors! Long live New Warriors! Warriors, get your war on!” Robbie continued to irritate the warden even further. 

“ARGH! Guards, kill them both!” the warden yelled in a rage. 

The guards took Robbie and forced him to stand beside Vance who was still tied to the pole. The two New Warriors shut their eyes and kept their heads high as they waited for their last moment. To them, at least they could finally die together.  
However, nothing happened to them. No sounds of shooting. No signs of feeling any bullets touching them. Just the sounds of rifles clicking. Vance and Robbie opened their eyes to find the astonished guards checking their rifles and panicking. 

“Sir! Our rifles are empty!” 

“Awww shit! It’s a sabotage!” 

“My gun’s been tampered with!”

“And mine too!” 

“Except for one…” a calm voice from the last guard spoke out. 

Before any guard could ask or react, the fifth guard wasted in no time beating up the other guards. The fifth guard moved too fast as he struck them with a rifle butt and his well-trained martial arts moves. Vance and Robbie stared at the scene wide-eyed as the guards fell to the ground unconscious. When the warden saw this, he began to panic and before he could call up for reinforcements, the fifth guard shot him down in vital places. The sadistic warden finally lay dead in a puddle of his own blood. 

_Who’s that?_ Vance was too awestruck at the twist of the scene. 

Once it was all done, the last remaining guard stepped up to the bound Vance and Robbie. 

“W-who are you?” Robbie asked with a startled voice as he felt his hands untied by the mysterious saviour. 

“I’ll tell you later when we get out of here.” the mystery guard replied as he started unlocking Robbie’s collar. 

Robbie Baldwin finally felt alive when his powers had returned. Vance watched and kept still when Robbie carefully aimed and zapped his friend’s collar with Penance powers. With the electronic circuits of the collar fried, Vance freed himself by reducing the pole into fragments with his restored telekinesis. 

“Now don’t strain yourself.” the mystery guard tried to warn him as he cut the ropes from Vance’s wrists. 

“Your voice! It seems so...familiar…” Vance blurted out while he rubbed his wrists. 

“No time to chit-chat!” the mystery guard hissed, “we must hurry! They are sounding the alarm!” 

Vance wasted in no time by blasting the wall. Despite his headache, he carried on doing it until there was a huge hole on the wall that was large enough for them to escape. 

"What about the other prisoners?" Robbie implored. 

"I'm sorry" the rescuer replied, "we'll free them another time. Right now we don't have time to lose!"

Vance, Robbie and their rescuer ran away from the prison grounds. At that moment, the shots rang out from the reinforcements. Ignoring his headache, Vance managed to put up a telekinetic shield to protect themselves from the whizzing oncoming bullets. Suddenly, there were wisps of shadows enveloping them before the bullet could hit anyone. Just when Vance could realize what was happening, the surroundings of the prison were finally gone. Due to the exertion of new-found running, using his restored powers, insufficient sleep and overwhelming senses; Vance passed out from exhaustion.

\- - - - - -

Darkness, that’s all he ever felt. Vance’s world was full of darkness. The last he remembered was that he had pushed himself too hard by using his restored telekinesis (which were not used for a long time since his imprisonment) and running with Robbie and the “guard” on a jailbreak. From his so-called slumber, he heard a variety of voices he could not identify yet were starting to rouse him. 

“Is that him?” 

“I hope he’s alright….”

“Oh, Vance...”

“Everyone, keep your voice down! Vance is waking up!” 

The noise from several different voices had bombarded his ears. Vance was starting to wake up with a headache. When he slowly opened his eyes, he saw familiar concerned faces of his friends - from the veteran New Warriors to the younger members of his recent team. They are worried but glad that their leader and friend is back with them safe and sound. Vance looked around to find himself in the hospital bed at the recovery room with the sounds of EEG[5] and heart monitor beeping. Instead of the drabby orange prison uniform, he found himself wearing the loose-fitting blue pajamas. 

“Ughhh...Where am I?” Vance groaned in his groggy state.

“You are back in the Warriors Resistance hideout and you passed out from exhaustion but it’s nothing serious” Silhouette smiled at him, “it’s good to see you again, Vance.”

“How long have I been out?” Vance mumbled as he rubbed his temples. 

“You were sleeping for two days!” Aracely started to ramble, “your mind’s been very chaotic! One time it’s screaming for Robbie and another, it’s showing the scary place! That “Captain America” is sooo eeevil! We called Dr Meland[6] to help us out and he said that you’re lacking sleep, nutrition and having minor injuries….” 

“Mmmm...then how did I get here?” Vance tried to ignore Aracely’s hyperactive chatter. 

“It was Silhouette who did the job by teleporting us out of the prison grounds.” a familiar voice said as the figure dressed in dark battle armour stepped in with a smile. 

“Dwayne? Is that you?” Vance gasped at the sight of his formerly-deceased friend. So, the rumours were true, Night Thrasher did come back to the land of living like some superheroes who died and resurrected different times from the afterlife revolving door. “Then how did you come back? I saw you die in Stamford on live TV from the last time I remember…”

“Yes, but I can’t remember exactly how I came back to life”[7] Dwayne said as he shrugged, “but that’s not important. What I was going to tell you was that I was the guard who saved you and Speedball from execution...”

“Speaking of Speedball, here he comes…” Selah interrupted as she glanced at another direction, “he’s very excited to see you.”

True to her words, Robbie Baldwin bounded in with an enthusiastic cheer. The most noticeable change about him was that he was back to wearing his recent blue-and-orange Speedball outfit with goggles-mask from his previous adventure in the New Warriors. Robbie landed beside Vance and gave him a squeezing hug. 

“Vance! Vance! Oh lordy! You’re okay!” Robbie started to babble in excitement, “I’m so glad you woke up! I thought I was gonna lose you. And then, Thrash saved us! I’ve never thought we’ll see him again…”

“Robbie...Robbie. P-please, can you ease your hug? Just...let me breathe!” Vance choked out with a wheeze. 

“Oh sorry…” Robbie gulped, then he relaxed his grip and hugged him gently this time. 

“Ahem!” Dwayne cleared his throat, “as much as we enjoy our sentimental reunions, there are more things we have to discuss.” 

“So, you’re the guard who saved us?” Vance asked, “then how did you know about our imprisonment?”

“Like you, I have been in the resistance but it was a different one. The group I used to work with was Stark’s. When I came back to the land of living, I hung out in Captain Marvel’s group for a while until she became a fanatic when she started a pointless war about future stuff and thought-crimes. In the end, I got fed up that I left for Baltimore to start a new life. I had been laying low for a while until Hydra took over America. Then, I joined Stark’s Resistance...” 

“Now, here comes the exciting part!” Robbie beamed with a grin. 

Dwayne Taylor continued with his story, “...well, you might know that Stark’s Resistance had some Avengers and the new kids whom I don’t know are from Champions. What surprised me more is that ‘Iron Man’ of the Resistance is an A.I. but he had some perks. In his A.I. form, Stark managed to hack the location of the prison thanks to the video message sent by the late Rick Jones. I was originally given a mission to save Rick from getting executed so I infiltrated the prison by pretending to be a guard. But by the time, I could save him, it was too late. However on some coincidence, I found out that both of you were incarcerated in the same prison as well. So I played along as a guard by observing you in the cell on patrols and feeding time. Once the time of execution came up, I took out all the ammunition from the guns while I kept my own ammo. Thus I saved you from death.” 

“That was bittersweet…” Mark Sim spoke up for the first time and looking downcast, “but it’s my fault for all the mess. I should have stayed with Vance and absorb the sonic blasts from the cannons in my Haechi form.” 

“Mark,” Vance reassured him, “I don’t blame you, the blame is for myself. Sometimes being too self-sacrificing can have its downside. I should have called in for more back-up. However, you had to protect the Inhuman prisoners and Selah from Hydra soldiers. I can’t risk you facing the soldiers without your experience even if you can change into Haechi to save me.” 

Mark nodded a bit and gave a small smile. He was glad to have his friend back. Vance was not just a leader, he was like a brotherly figure to him and his teammates. 

Robbie turned to Dwayne and asked, “by the way, Thrash, are you going to join the New Warriors again? We are more than happy to have you back. And besides, the Warriors need someone like you to help us fight Hydra.” 

Dwayne paused for a moment, he turned to Vance who smiled at him and then, looked back at Robbie. 

“I’ll be happy to. Stark has enough resistance members in his group but first, I have to tell him the news about what happened recently.” Dwayne replied before he left the room to give a message. 

The younger New Warriors took turns in chatting with Vance and Robbie before leaving the room one by one. Few hours later, only Silhouette remained in the room with Vance and Robbie. 

Robbie turned to the girl in crutches, “Sil, did Thrash tell you about our whereabouts before you teleported us out of prison?”

Silhouette thought for a moment and answered, “Yes, even if I can teleport, it’s not easy because many prisons are guarded from teleporters. It took a few days for Dwayne to learn the prison layout and to disable the anti-teleporter security systems. Before the rescue, Dwayne had messaged me about the specific prison. You can imagine how I felt when I learnt Dwayne had finally come back.”

Vance and Robbie understood Sil’s explanation. Teleporting rashly to the well-guarded prison with anti-teleporter security system can be very risky and one wrong step would cost her life. 

“By the way, Sil” Vance asked her with worry, “has anyone ever taken over my leadership spot temporarily in our absence? Call me a worrywart if you want, but a group of kids need someone who’s a responsible, capable leader to guide them.”

“When you were stuck in prison, most of them didn’t know what to do.” Silhouette sighed, “They wanted to rescue but there have been arguments among us about who would take over the leadership spot. Sun Girl wanted to lead but we weren’t sure whether she could take more challenges in rescue missions. Some of them asked me to lead but even though I’m older than them; I’m a loner, not a leader. One of your students of the former Avengers Academy - Finesse volunteered that she could take charge but even though she’s smart, the kids got creeped out by her coldness. Finally, the argument only ended when Richard decided to take over in your absence.” 

“What? Richie is here too?” 

“Yes, he is.” Silhouette reminded before disappearing into the shadows, “but don’t ask him about how he came back from the dead. He doesn’t like to talk about it.”

Vance and Robbie did not know that Richard Rider had also come back from the dead. Unlike Dwayne Taylor; Richard did not die in an explosion, instead he “died” by trapping himself and Star-Lord in the horrifying dimension called Cancerverse to stop Thanos. However, while Star-Lord and Thanos escaped Cancerverse much later, Richard Rider remained trapped for a long time until recently. 

“Hey, Super-Tights!” a familiar voice called Vance out by his nickname, “glad that you’re awake.” 

“Rich!” 

“In the flesh.” Richard Rider smiled at Vance as he stepped in, “Sil told you that I took over the leadership spot when you disappeared. In case you don’t know, I had been a leader of the Nova Corps back then. While Thrash had been doing the undercover work, I had to lead a bunch a kids in your absence. They are really quite a handful, it’s like babysitting fifty Speedballs.”

“Hey!” Robbie protested in annoyance. 

“It’s nice of you to help out” Vance said, “when I get better tomorrow, we can discuss on reorganizing our Resistance. We have to come up with ideas on choosing squad leaders to manage the kids. Robbie has encouraged Dwayne to stay in this team. And if Dwayne stays, then we can form our own Triumvirate (or you might call it ‘The Big Three’) consisting of myself, Dwayne and you for better management.” 

“And we have to come up with better plans to save Debrii, Ultragirl and Gravity.” Robbie added. 

Richard Rider nodded, he glanced at the clock on the wall and said to Vance, “by the way, Super-Tights, it’s getting late and you need to rest. Toothpick can stay with you while I get to bed.” 

With that, Richard left the recovery room. Once Richard is out of the room, Robbie dragged the sofa and set it down next to Vance’s bed. 

“Robbie, that’s not necessary!” Vance blurted out in astonishment. 

“Ummm….It’s okay, Vance” Robbie tried to lie with a blush on his face, “I just wanted to monitor you…and to be close.”

“Oh Rob...” Vance chuckled, “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be alright tomorrow.”

Robbie held Vance’s hand a bit and he leaned over affectionately to stroke the dark hair from his friend’s forehead before moving over to sleep on the sofa. “We’ve been through alot and we survived. Goodnight, Vance...Hope for a speedy recovery!”

“Yeah, goodnight to you too” Vance said as he smiled warmly, “and sleep well.” 

Sooner or later, Robbie Baldwin slept comfortably on the sofa next to him. Vance was happy to see his friend feeling better, fast asleep and looking peaceful. Adjusting himself in the hospital bed, Vance stared at the ceiling and contemplated. 

_We will work harder to bring down Hydra. First, we have to reorganize ourselves and save our friends. Then, we’ll try to help the real Avengers defeat Hydra and restore Cap back to normal. We can survive…_

Moments later, Vance Astrovik fell asleep with hopes and dreams of defeating Hydra.

\- - - -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1Rage’s arrest and trial happened in Captain America: Sam Wilson #17-19. Eventually, he ended up getting convicted and sent to prison where he was beaten into a coma by inmates in Captain America: Sam Wilson #20.
> 
> 2Of all the New Warriors of past and present, the only few who are absent are Kaine, Sam Alexander, Rage and Firestar. After Kaine dealt with Spider-Verse incident, he’s searching for Ben Reilly who had gone rogue. Sam Alexander is absent because he’s on a space mission with Carol Danvers. Rage’s fate is mentioned above. As for Firestar, it is presumed that she may have been forcibly relocated to New Tian the mutant reservation area in California.
> 
> 3Those inactive teenage superheroes are likely the surviving Avengers Academy kids, the young Initiative cadets, Speed of Young Avengers and Gravity.
> 
> 4Speedball’s arrest happened in Deadpool #32 which is a tie-in issue to Secret Empire.

**Author's Note:**

> 1Rage’s arrest and trial happened in Captain America: Sam Wilson #17-19. Eventually, he ended up getting convicted and sent to prison where he was beaten into a coma by inmates in Captain America: Sam Wilson #20.
> 
> 2Of all the New Warriors of past and present, the only few who are absent are Kaine, Sam Alexander, Rage and Firestar. After Kaine dealt with Spider-Verse incident, he’s searching for Ben Reilly who had gone rogue. Sam Alexander is absent because he’s on a space mission with Carol Danvers. Rage’s fate is mentioned above. As for Firestar, it is presumed that she may have been forcibly relocated to New Tian the mutant reservation area in California.
> 
> 3Those inactive teenage superheroes are likely the surviving Avengers Academy kids, the young Initiative cadets, Speed of Young Avengers and Gravity.
> 
> 4Speedball’s arrest happened in Deadpool #32 which is a tie-in issue to Secret Empire. 
> 
> 5EEG (Electroencephalography) is meant to monitor the brainwaves of the patients in hospitals.
> 
> 6Donald Meland is one of the supporting characters from Scarlet Spider comic. He is the doctor who helped Aracely out in hospital.
> 
> 7Dwayne Taylor known as Night Thrasher was brought back to life by The Collector in Contest of Champions comic. He was sent back to Earth-616 early by Maestro after he was found too hypercompetent to challenge. As a side-effect of getting sent back, the memories of the Contest of Champions had been erased.  
> \- - - -  
> A/N: Phew! That’s enough for a moment. It’s better for me to leave this story open-ended and with imagination but then again, I am open to ideas. And besides, the heroes might still work hard in saving innocents and bringing down Hydra. I hope you enjoy this story.


End file.
